The White House said the search for a new FBI director was beginning immediately.

The White House made the stunning announcement shortly after the FBI corrected a sentence in Mr Comey’s sworn testimony on Capitol Hill last week.

Mr Comey told politicians that Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, had sent ‘hundreds and thousands’ of emails to her husband’s laptop, including some with classified information.

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Trump and Comey shaking hands days after he took office (Picture: Getty)

On Tuesday, the FBI said in a two-page letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that only ‘a small number’ of the thousands of emails found on the laptop had been forwarded there while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices.

Most of the email chains on the laptop containing classified information were not the result of forwarding, the FBI said.

Mr Comey, 56, was nominated by President Barack Obama for the FBI post in 2013 to a 10-year term.
Praised for his independence and integrity, Mr Comey has spent three decades in law enforcement and has been no stranger to controversy.

Mr Comey’s firing comes days after he testified on Capitol Hill about the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s election meddling and possible connections between Russia and Mr Trump’s campaign.